New education facility will educate tomorrow's workers

Published: Tuesday, March 11, 2014 at 5:14 p.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, March 11, 2014 at 5:14 p.m.

Our region is on the verge of getting a new training center to produce the next generation of oilfield workers.

Fletcher Technical Community College is planning to open the Deepwater Center for Workforce Excellence within the next several weeks.

But this is not just a Fletcher facility. It will be shared by Fletcher, Nicholls State and South Central Louisiana Technical College.

Together, these institutions will help train tomorrow’s workers using state-of-the-art technology.

The oilfield is different now than it was just a few short years ago. With more and more of future oilfield development taking place in deepwater expanses, the demand for high-tech training is increasing.

The changing industry is coinciding with a time when 40 percent of the Gulf oilfield’s workers are expected to be retiring within this decade, according to some estimates.

Not only will all those workers have to be replaced by new workers, but the new workers will have to have much higher levels of training on new machinery and software.

That is where the new training center will come in handy.

“Fletcher is now an entirely new place,” said Steven Lee, Fletcher’s research and development director. “We are going to start, in a modest way, to start contributing to science.”

These are indeed exciting times for the people poised to enter this rapidly changing industry, keeping the fuel flowing and keeping the lights on throughout our nation.

This is a great area and one that helps keep this lucrative industry supplied, manned and rolling along as it has done for decades.

But the industry changes, and this is one of those times.

Our area depends on the oil and gas industry for so many of our jobs, in addition to the obvious financial investments and tax revenue. But we shouldn’t forget that the industry is just as dependent on us to provide the workers it needs to continue its important job.

Our regional institutions are going to play a huge role in the coming years supplying qualified workers for an increasingly demanding industry and preparing workers for challenging but lucrative careers in the industry.

It is a mutually beneficial relationship and one that is bound to benefit on every side from innovative programs like the center opening at Fletcher.

<p>Our region is on the verge of getting a new training center to produce the next generation of oilfield workers.</p><p>Fletcher Technical Community College is planning to open the Deepwater Center for Workforce Excellence within the next several weeks.</p><p>But this is not just a Fletcher facility. It will be shared by Fletcher, Nicholls State and South Central Louisiana Technical College.</p><p>Together, these institutions will help train tomorrow's workers using state-of-the-art technology.</p><p>The oilfield is different now than it was just a few short years ago. With more and more of future oilfield development taking place in deepwater expanses, the demand for high-tech training is increasing.</p><p>The changing industry is coinciding with a time when 40 percent of the Gulf oilfield's workers are expected to be retiring within this decade, according to some estimates.</p><p>Not only will all those workers have to be replaced by new workers, but the new workers will have to have much higher levels of training on new machinery and software.</p><p>That is where the new training center will come in handy.</p><p>“Fletcher is now an entirely new place,” said Steven Lee, Fletcher's research and development director. “We are going to start, in a modest way, to start contributing to science.”</p><p>These are indeed exciting times for the people poised to enter this rapidly changing industry, keeping the fuel flowing and keeping the lights on throughout our nation.</p><p>This is a great area and one that helps keep this lucrative industry supplied, manned and rolling along as it has done for decades.</p><p>But the industry changes, and this is one of those times.</p><p>Our area depends on the oil and gas industry for so many of our jobs, in addition to the obvious financial investments and tax revenue. But we shouldn't forget that the industry is just as dependent on us to provide the workers it needs to continue its important job.</p><p>Our regional institutions are going to play a huge role in the coming years supplying qualified workers for an increasingly demanding industry and preparing workers for challenging but lucrative careers in the industry.</p><p>It is a mutually beneficial relationship and one that is bound to benefit on every side from innovative programs like the center opening at Fletcher.</p><p>Congratulations to all involved.</p><p>Editorials represent the opinions of</p><p>the newspaper, not of any individual.</p>